MUMBAI: Even as it is looking for a buyer for its stake in IL&FS, state-run lender Central Bank of India has initiated the process to sell its housing finance business and appointed ICICI Securities to find a potential buyer.

The company, Cent Bank Home Finance, wherein the bank holds around 60 percent, commenced operations in 1991.

"This is part of a government directive to sell non-core assets of PSU banks. We would like to sell our entire stake in our housing finance arm if we get the correct price," executive director R K Goyal said.

The other share-holders in Cent Bank Home Finance are Hudco, UTI and National Housing Bank (NHB).

According to the bank, total valuation of its housing finance company is around Rs 200 crore and its stake is valued at around Rs 125 crore.

Goyal, however, said the current valuation of the company will be done by the ICICI Securities.

The bank earlier this year had appointed SBI Caps as the merchant banker to find out a right buyer for its stake in Infrastructure Leasing and Financial Services (IL&FS).

The bank is one of the promoters of IL&FS and holds 8.34 percent stake in it and is eyeing to raise around Rs 900 crore.

The top share-holders in IL&FS are LIC (25.34 percent), Orix Corporation of Japan (23.04 percent), Abu Dhabi Investment Authority (11.09 percent) and IL&FS Employees' Welfare Trust (13.65 percent).

Other share-holders include HDFC (9.81 percent), SBI (6.98 percent) and UTI (0.80 percent).

Central Bank chairman and managing director Rajeev Rishi had earlier said the lender needed Rs 2,000 crore capital in the current fiscal. In August, the bank had raised Rs 582 crore by selling 7.10 crore shares to LIC.

"We need Rs 1,400-1,500 crore of funds in this year and we already are there in the market," Rishi had said last week.

The city-based bank reported a net profit of Rs 103 crore in the September quarter as against a loss of Rs 1,509 crore in the year-ago quarter.

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